The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the 30,000 new polling units it recently created until the 2015 general election is held.
According to Augusta C. Ogakwu, secretary to the commission, the decision was take in view of the controversy over creation of additional polling units, which the commission says has been overheating the polity.
INEC also complained of “inadequacy of time” for the exercise.
“The commission met today, Tuesday, November 11, 2014, and reviewed reports sent in from states by Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on reconfiguration of the polling unit structure and creation of additional polling units,” Ogakwu said.
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“The commission, nevertheless, will continue with the use of voting points, where necessary, to mitigate population pressure in overcrowded polling units during the forthcoming elections.”
She also said INEC would relocate polling units from unsuitable locations; and as much as possible ensure that polling units are located in enclosures such classrooms, rather than in open spaces.
The distribution of more than 30,000 polling units earned the electoral body criticism from some parts of the country, as the process saw the even distribution of 121 units to all 36 states of the country but with more units to other states with the exception of Bayelsa, Enugu, Ekiti, Anambra and Osun.
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But Attahiru Jega, a professor and chairman of INEC, justified the move, saying it was driven by the “collective aspirations as Nigerians to reform and improve upon the electoral process for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections in 2015 and beyond”.
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